


Worth It

by Riadasti



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Canon somewhat compliant, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22445410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riadasti/pseuds/Riadasti
Summary: But for whatever reason, Caitlin was giving him strange vibes just before he left, and this is coming from someone who has the ability to -actually- vibe.
Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Caitlin Snow
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	1. Many a New Day

**Author's Note:**

> Annnnnnd here we go with something totally new. I was giving it some thought today and thought I'd like to explore this relationship. I have always loved their interactions and am curious to see if I can pull off the famous friends-to-lovers trope. Any advice/feedback is greatly appreciated. 
> 
> Thanks!

“Hey!” Caitlin shouts and turns an accusatory glare at Cisco, who had just tossed a Nerf gun dart at her head. “What was that for?”

Cisco throws his hands up in the air. “Unbelievable! You weren’t even listening, were you?”

“I was listening, just—not—completely. You said something about a weapon, and then…the circuits…”

Cisco lets out a frustrated groan and stomps out of the laboratory. “I’ll go talk to Barry about this. I’m tired of being unappreciated around here.” He continues this tirade down the hall until his voice fades.

Caitlin drags herself back to her small corner of the office and stares abstractedly at the computer screen. Her hands hover over the keys, but she can’t remember why she came over here in the first place. All she can think about is the terrifying image of Grodd bearing down on her, and how Harrison took her place. He did that for her. And now he was leaving—but right now the last thing she wants to think about is a certain steely-eyed man.

Five minutes later, Cisco saunters back into the lab with a hangdog expression. He walks straight into her office and stands behind her, where she is still sitting with a blank expression on her face.

“Talked to Barry. He says I should be more understanding and—hey,” he steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Her head falls heavily into her hands. “No,” she says.

“That’s it,” Cisco says, “I’m taking you home.”

He all but shoves her out of her chair (with playful yet gentle shoves) and encourages her into her coat and out the door. She’s vaguely aware of all of this and is even immune to his silly antics in his car dancing to the radio.

Suddenly, she looks around and finds herself seated on the couch at her apartment.

“How did I get here?”

Cisco stops in the doorway to her kitchen. “Wow, you are _out_ of it. We had a whole conversation in the car—mostly one-sided, but it’s okay, I forgive you.” He sets a bowl of fresh popcorn between them and hands her an open bottle of beer.

“That’s not a popcorn bowl.” She says, staring down at it with a vague expression.

“What do you mean? All bowls are popcorn bowls if you try hard enough.”

“That’s a mixing bowl.”

“You kidding? Those make the _best_. It’s even got this convenient little handle to eat one-handed,” he demonstrates the merits of this by holding the bowl in one hand and using his tongue to retrieve a piece of popcorn. He then drinks his beer out of his other hand. “See?”

She laughs, “Gross. I hope your family didn’t share with you.”

“My mom gave me the idea, actually,” he says with mock pride. “Regardless, I’m happy to hear you laughing.”

Caitlin gives him a small smile. “I’m glad you’re here. And since I don’t remember any of the ride home, I’m also grateful to you for getting me here safely.”

“Yeah, you missed out on my sick singing skills.”

She takes a sip of her beer and fixes him with a curious glance. “You’re actually a good singer, you know. I’ve heard you.”

“You mean when I’m standing in for Barry at ‘Show Tunes Night?’”

She laughs, recalling a particularly blurry incident on stage with him belting out “Anything You Can Do.”

Cisco’s easy smile turns into a cautious one. “Really, though. You okay?”

She sighs and lets her head fall back against the couch cushion. “Honestly? Not really.”

His eyes drop to the popcorn in his lap. “Is it about Wells?”

“Yeah,” she says, and continues with unusual candor. “It’s not as if he’ll miss me as much as I’ll miss him, but it’s just…he’s done a lot for us. It’ll leave a hole in our little family, you know?”

He wrinkles his brow at her. “I hope you don’t think of me as a brother, because that would be weird.”

She mirrors his frown and shakes her head. “No, Barry’s my brother. With you it’s more like…friends?”

She hesitates on that last word. She and Cisco have spent a lot of time together at STAR labs—years, in fact—but they haven’t done many non-work-related activities together outside of the lab. He only started coming to the karaoke bars with her when Barry and Iris finally became a thing. Barry is, understandably, distracted with other things.

“That’s fair,” he says. “But regardless, my job the next few days is to cheer you up.” He punctuates this by turning on the TV and selecting a movie.

Caitlin studies him and wonders what this newfound friendship with Cisco will be like. Cause right now, this almost feels more like a date.

She quickly takes a big gulp of her beer and stares at the screen. She’s not quite ready for labels like that. Not yet, anyway.

The opening titles to _Oklahoma_ flash across the screen, and for the next 2 hours and 25 minutes, she’s transported into one of her favorite musicals.

As the final song fades away, she glances over at her companion to find him fast asleep, his hand still clasped around the beer in his lap. She gently removes this before it falls over and does her best to extricate the popcorn bowl from his other hand. He snorts in his sleep and suddenly leans over to place his head on her shoulder. He mutters something and then sits up.

“Shoot, sorry.” He wipes at his mouth. “Did I drool on you?”

“Not too much,” she says with a laugh.

He apologizes and lifts his arms to stretch. “That is a long ass movie.”

“Was this your first time seeing this?”

He frowns at her. “Please. I grew up in a home with my musically inclined brother. I’ve seen all the musicals.”

“Good,” she says and shoves his shoulder gently. “Cause I’d be mad otherwise.”

He yawns and bends down to rest against the opposite side of the couch. “Ok, goodnight.”

Caitlin smiles and then looks at her watch. “It’s almost midnight! We need to get some sleep.”

“You go on without me,” he lifts a hand limply in the air. “This is where I live now.”

“Ha-ha,” she says in a dry tone. “Seriously. We’ll be worn out tomorrow.”

Cisco sits up with a dramatic sigh and starts to clean up.

“You don’t have to do that!” She says, under the firm belief that guests should never have to clean up after themselves.

He fixes her with a stern gaze. “Would you let me do something for you this once?” and he walks to the kitchen, ignoring her repeated protests.

“Okay,” he says once he returns. “I can practically walk to your house from here, so why don’t I just pick you up in the morning?”

She bites her lip. “You sure?”

“You don’t think I can get up in time, do you?”

“Um,” she says, stalling.

“Fine, fine. Give me a call tomorrow to wake me up and I’ll make sure to be dressed, if nothing else.”

Caitlin walks to the door with him and feels suddenly self-conscious, which is a new sensation around easy-going Cisco.

“Thanks for tonight,” she says, staring down at her feet. “I had a great time.”

“Okay, you’re being weird.” He pulls her in for a quick hug and then opens the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

~~~

He swears he is not crazy. He can’t be losing his mind at this stage—he’s too young. But for whatever reason, Caitlin was giving him strange vibes just before he left, and this is coming from someone who has the ability to _actually_ vibe. He fixes his eyes on the road and makes the six-block journey to his apartment.

_Snap out of it_ , he tells himself. _Just focus on being a good friend to her. That’s clearly all she can handle right now._

He startles himself with this thought because it implies he wants something more than friends. But he doesn’t. Does he?

He pulls into his driveway and decides to distract himself the rest of the night with some mindless TV. Usually this does the trick and he can fall asleep right away, but tonight he’s restless. With a groan of frustration after the second hour tossing and turning, he does a quick search and selects something that’s sure to put him back to sleep.

As “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” rings through the sound bar on his television, he’s waiting for that blissful rest to overtake him. But this time, he’s wide-awake. He finds himself watching the screen and humming along with the tunes, and a piece of him is sad he didn’t get to hear Caitlin’s in-the-moment reactions to the film earlier.

The end credits roll, and he’s still awake. With all hope of any rest gone, he eventually searches the category ‘musicals’ and turns on the auto-play feature. He rolls over and grabs his phone, opening the messenger app. He sees that Caitlin was active a few minutes ago.

_You awake?_ He types out the message and waits.

A few moments later, the ‘typing’ icon pops up, and she responds _Barely. You?_

He smiles and responds with, _Currently trying to sleep, but you’ve ruined me. All I can do is listen to show tunes._

She sends back a laughing emoji and, _What are you listening to now?_

He glances at the screen. _That one with the VonTrapp (sp?) family. I’m blanking on the name, but it’s 3am, so I’m excused._

_Sound of Music_ , she types back. _But it’s not my favorite._

_Which one’s your favorite?_

_We just watched it_.

Cisco frowns. _Sorry I fell asleep on you. I wish I could have heard you sing along._

Another laughing emoji. _You would have enjoyed it less._

He’s in the middle of typing back a snarky response, but she says, _I think I’m finally ready for some sleep. Goodnight, Cisco_

_Night, Caitlin_. He punctuates this with a gif of a little girl lying down on the beach that says “I take a nap right here,” and types back, _This will be me tomorrow._

_I hope it was worth it_ , she says, and her status changes to _inactive_. She must have finally set her phone aside for the night.

Cisco falls back against his pillow and ponders her statement. It was absolutely worth it.


	2. The Lonely Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She is so used to explaining things to previous boyfriends that—
> 
> Her thoughts stop cold at that statement. She is not going to compare Cisco to Jay. Or even to her fleeting crush on Wells. Nope, not happening. It’s too weird.

It feels like he just closes his eyes, and then suddenly his phone is trilling loudly beside his ear. He snatches it and tries to turn off his alarm, only to realize it’s actually Caitlin calling him. He clears his throat and answers, but his voice still comes out as a low growl.

“Good morning, sunshine,” her cheerful voice on the other end isn’t totally unwelcome, but the rudeness of the morning hour hits him like a ton of bricks.

He can only groan in response and slowly sits up.

“You have half an hour to get dressed and come fetch me for work. Can you do it?”

He nods his head and then remembers he’s on the phone. “Yeah,” he rasps in response.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting. Don’t lie back down and fall asleep.”

As soon as she says this, he bolts upright. He had lain back down only a second earlier. She’s a freaking mindreader.

“I’ll be dressed, but I can’t promise anything more than that.”

Her laughter on the other end brings a soft smile to his face. He could wake up to that sound more often.

After hanging up, he pulls himself out of bed and drags his feet to his closet. After discarding some shirts whose cleanliness is bordering on questionable, he picks the least wrinkled of the bunch. His pants are passable, so he pulls these on and makes his way groggily to the bathroom. He has dark circles under his eyes and his hair is an almost matted mess.

After ten minutes of struggling to get a comb through his shoulder-length hair, he throws it back in a ponytail and washes his face to hopefully bring some more life back into him. He feels like a zombie as he pulls his shoes on and has to run back to brush his teeth and put on deodorant before darting out the door. His morning ablutions have taken him a solid twenty-five minutes at his sluggish pace, so he rushes through the neighborhood streets to her home.

He pulls into the drive at 8am on the dot and then realizes something. On Tuesdays, they don’t have to be at work till 9. Work is a short ten-minute drive from their respective homes.

He steps out of the car and makes his way to her door, which opens before he can even knock on it.

“You tricked me,” he says, his voice still a bit gravely.

She gives him her signature sunshiny grin, and he honestly can’t be mad at her when she does that. “I made breakfast,” she says, beckoning him inside.

Delicious aromas of coffee, pancakes, and bacon reach his nose. “How long have you been awake?” He turns to fix her with a curious glance.

“I, uh, didn’t really sleep.” She gives him a sheepish grin, and he can just see the dark circles cleverly hidden beneath her makeup.

“Me neither,” he admits. “I finally drifted off to Mary Poppins somewhere around 6am.”

“Sorry,” she says.

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not as if it’s your fault.”

“I know, but you fell asleep during the movie, and I’m sure that threw off your sleep cycle.”

“Still,” he insists, “Not your fault.” He starts walking toward the kitchen, glad for the excuse to break away from her direct gaze. “Next time just hit me with a throw pillow or something to keep me awake.”

“Next time?” She asks.

“Yeah,” he says, giving her one small glance. “If you’d like that?”

She nods and gives him the Caitlin Snow smile he knows and loves. “Of course!”

They finish breakfast—and he insists on helping clean up, and eventually make their way to work.

Over the next few days, everyone is distracted with the upcoming departure of Wells and Jesse, and so their movie night is postponed for the time being. He suggests they start car-pooling, but she turns this down. He’s initially hurt by her response (though he’d never admit it openly) until he realizes she just needs the alone time to process things. One thing he’s learned about Caitlin is that she feels things deeply but rarely allows herself to express them in front of anyone. Just like he views his car as his personal dance/music studio, she must view hers like her own private sanctuary where she can be by herself.

Despite this, they start texting more often, and he uses this to check in with her as the big day approaches. She’s admitted to feeling especially down in the dumps, so he decides to plan a small “going away” party for the Wells’. It ends up being rather fun, though bittersweet, and the bowling was a brilliant idea. Everyone seems to enjoy themselves, even Harrison-all-work-no-play himself. But at the end of the night, they still have to say goodbye.

It’s painful, and no one is left with a dry eye in the lab, not even Joe or Wally. Once the final goodbyes are said and the Wells’ are finally gone, Cisco tries to incite an after-party at the local pub. There’s mixed responses from everyone, and it’s clear that Iris and Barry want some time alone. Joe and Wally have plans to watch a game together, so that leaves Cisco scrambling for some sort of distraction for a very sad Caitlin Snow.

\--

Caitlin wipes at her eyes, knowing they must look puffy after the evening’s events. She did her best to keep it together and lost it the moment she hugged Wells. It was a tearful goodbye that she wasn’t expecting.

Cisco’s attempts at distracting her only emphasize the loss. She appreciates his efforts (they are endearing) but she’s fairly certain everyone wants some time alone. Wally, Joe, Iris, and Barry all depart, and now it’s just her and Cisco.

“I guess the after party will just be you and me.”

She nods, managing a small smile at him.

“Unless,” he interjects with a sense of hesitation, “you’d like some alone time like the others?”

She contemplates this and considers the cold, empty apartment waiting for her. She’d be alone with her thoughts, and right now she’s not sure that’s a good idea. Sometimes she can go to dark places—especially after losing Ronnie and Jay within a relatively short time. And now after today’s departure, she feels like she’s in tatters. She rarely asks for help, but…

“Let’s watch that movie, like we planned.”

Cisco appears genuinely surprised. He’s too shocked to offer a goofy retort.

“Same plan as last time?” He says, oddly fidgety with his keys.

“Uh, sure, I guess,” she’s equally uncertain.

The ride back to her place is quiet, and she does her best to wrestle with her feelings of sadness now so they don’t end up spilling over later. She doesn’t want to put that burden on her friend.

She glances over at him. It’s odd—not that she’s calling him a friend, but that she’s only _just now_ referring to him in her mind with that title. Before, he’s been “just Cisco,” ever faithful and always there in a pinch. It seems strange for someone as logical as Caitlin to refuse to put him in any sort of box with a label. It feels like he’s always just…been there, as a permanent fixture in her life. He’s seen her through countless heartaches in his own way, with his cheerfulness and determination. Having him drive her places alone and seeing him beside her on the couch have created some sort of shift between them, moving from acquaintances to friends to—she doesn’t know what.

He parks, exits the car, and holds the door for her. She steps out and stares at him.

“What, I can’t be a gentleman?” He asks, a touch defensively.

“It’s nothing, it’s just—” She laughs, “just odd. Thanks,” she adds hastily.

They make their way inside her apartment, and he offers to get them both drinks. She agrees and goes to her bedroom to change out of her work clothes. When she comes back, he’s seated on the couch with a beer in each hand. He glances at her and bursts into laughter.

“Does your shirt literally say ‘talk nerdy to me?’”

She flushes slightly. “Yeah, it was a gag gift from my parents. It’s got the periodic symbols for—”

“Nitrogen, erbium, and dysprosium,” he finishes. “Yeah, I like it.”

Caitlin takes the drink from his outstretched hands and sits beside him. Sometimes she forgets that Cisco is in a similar field of science to her. She is so used to explaining things to previous boyfriends that—

Her thoughts stop cold at that statement. She is not going to compare Cisco to Jay. Or even to her fleeting crush on Wells. Nope, not happening. It’s too weird.

“You with me, Snow?”

She shakes her head. “Yeah, just a bit preoccupied. Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I was just saying that I hope you don’t mind me coming over again. I could tell you were down about everything today, and, to be honest, I was feeling that way myself.”

Caitlin studies him over the rim of her beer bottle. “Really? Always cheerful, never serious Cisco?”

“Hey, I can be serious!” He chimes in. “For instance, I am seriously considering what movie we should sing along with tonight.”

She bites her lip, considering which of her many movies would suit the mood of the evening, and with a cry, she jumps to her feet and grabs one from the cabinet. “This is another good one, so no peeking.”

“Scout’s honor.”

She turns and fixes him with a hard stare. “You were _not_ a boy scout!”

“I'll have you know I was an Eagle Scout. Best fire-maker and survivalist of the bunch.”

Caitlin can’t help but laugh, picturing a young Cisco leading the troop through the woods in his little uniform.

She puts the movie on and returns to the couch, only to find him staring at her with a suddenly sober expression.

“I’m glad you’re laughing. I’ve been really worried about you this week.”

“Thanks,” she says, unsure why her face is suddenly so warm.

She’s grateful for the excuse to break eye contact as _Into the Woods_ begins to play.

\--

Cisco is in real trouble. He’s honestly pretty put out with himself for some of the thoughts going through his head. He knows she’s in a vulnerable place right now, especially with everything that’s happened today, but damn…did she have to wear _that_?

He’s only ever seen her in professional clothes. Even the other night when they watched Oklahoma, she had kept her knee-length skirt and ruffled top on. But tonight, she came out of her room wearing a slim, fitted t-shirt and baggy capris with what appear to be tiny little beakers all over them. Call him crazy, but comfy and nerdy looks sexy on Caitlin Snow.

 _Ooooookay, pull yourself together_. _This is an evening between friends. You’re here to cheer her up—nothing more._

He focuses on the movie (and on not falling asleep again), and finds himself wrapped up in the story. She pauses it after the second act, and before she has a chance to speak, her stomach lets out a loud growl.

They both burst into laughter, and he picks up his phone.

“That’s it, I’m ordering a pizza.”

She agrees and insists on paying for half of it. He consents to this plan and they start the second act of _Into the Woods_ while they wait.

“Wow, this is way sadder than Act 1,” he comments.

“Yeah,” she says wistfully, “I think it’s supposed to take your idea of typical fairy tales and turn it on its head. Subvert your expectations and all that.”

Cisco stares at her and considers telling her that she’s inadvertently subverted his expectations. _For instance_ , he thinks, _I didn’t expect to find myself on the couch with you sort of wishing I could hold your hand._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Installment 2 is in the books. So? Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? I'll take them all.


	3. All or Nuthin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yes,” Caitlin insists. And it’s not a total lie. “Cisco’s been keeping me busy.”
> 
> Iris’s eyes widen.

Caitlin walks over to Cisco’s desk and asks him what he’s up to.

His eyes light up and he dives into one of his rapid-fire explanations. “Meta-human activity has dropped to an all-time low, so I thought I’d do some fine tuning on the algorithms I set in place for our alert system, aaaaaaand you’re not listening, are you?”

“Hmm?” She says, clearly giving proof to his argument.

Caitlin _had_ been listening, but she found herself getting distracted by the passionate way in which he does everything. She was lost, for a moment, in wondering…well, she doesn’t really know what.

It’s been two weeks since they started watching movies together, and they’ve actually been taking turns driving each other to work. She didn’t expect to enjoy it so much, since she cherishes her solitary time in the car, but she finds herself looking forward to it.

He’s staring at her expectantly, so she clears her throat, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and rapidly changes tack.

“So what are we doing tonight?”

Cisco smiles and opens his mouth to respond, but Barry walks in, hand in hand with Iris, and interjects. “Ooh, is it Show Tunes Night?”

“Uh, yeah! Totally!” Cisco responds quickly, giving Caitlin a small, imperceptible shrug.

It’s odd because she’s sort of relieved he didn’t say anything. It’s not as if there’s anything to hide, but she’s pretty sure Barry and Iris will get the wrong idea. Not…that…their movie nights would imply anything other than two friends spending time together.

Iris tugs on his shirtsleeve. “No, babe, remember? We have that thing tonight with Dad and Wally.”

“Dang, you’re right.” He fixes Cisco and Caitlin with a frown. “Sorry guys. Rain check?”

Caitlin and Cisco are quick to agree, and Iris glances between them. Caitlin quickly leaves the room and busies herself at her computer. She has no idea what she’s actually looking at, but she doesn’t think she can stand up to Iris’s perceptive scrutiny. She pulls up her Internet browser and clicks on Central City Citizen in her favorites when Iris enters the room.

“Hey, you okay?” Her friend asks, the concern clearly written on her face.

“Yeah, I’m good!” is Caitlin’s characteristic and automatic response.

Iris cocks her head to one side and narrows her eyes. “Are you really, though?”

“Yes,” Caitlin insists. And it’s not a total lie. “Cisco’s been keeping me busy.”

Iris’s eyes widen.

“I mean—you know what I mean. That’s not—I didn’t mean to imply—we’ve just been spending time together, that’s all. He’s been great company.” She hates that her cheeks are flushing.

Her friend simply says, “Mmm-hmm,” which indicates she has a suspicion something else is going on, and then she notices the window open on Caitlin’s computer. “Ooh, is that today’s issue? They were supposed to publish one of my new articles,” and they get lost in a completely unrelated discussion.

Caitlin is silently relieved. She doesn’t want a bunch of questions about Cisco right now.

After about five minutes, Iris says, “Well, that was a fun diversion. Now, back to you and Cisco…”

“Iris,” Caitlin says with an admonitory tone. “There’s really nothing going on, I swear!”

“Okay, yeah, I don’t believe you.” Iris crosses her arms. “I am very familiar with ‘the many faces and moods of Caitlin Snow,’ and I can tell right now you’re keeping something delicious from me. Call it my journalist instinct.” She pulls up a stool and props her elbows onto Caitlin’s desk with an over-eager sparkle in her eyes.

Caitlin frowns and glances into the larger room. Barry and Cisco are laughing at a video on his computer, so there’s no risk of them overhearing.

“Okay, fine,” Caitlin admits at last. “I’m not really sure what’s going on, but right now we’re just watching movies together and having a few beers. That’s it.”

“That’s it?”

“And sometimes driving each other to work. But yes, I swear that’s it,” Caitlin holds up her hands in surrender. “We’ve both been feeling a bit lonely lately, I guess,” (she can’t believe she’s actually saying it out loud), “so it’s natural that we’d be sort of thrown together.”

Iris nods, the look of concern returning to her mobile features. “I know Barry and I have been busier lately, and I’m sorry about that.”

“No, no!” Caitlin puts a hand on Iris’s arm, quick to reassure her. “Trust me, it’s not that.”

“Okay,” Iris responds, clearly not convinced. “But we should really have a Show Tunes Night soon, and a girls’ night—just you and me.”

Caitlin reaches over and hugs her friend. “I’d like that.”

Iris catches sight of Caitlin’s watch. “Shoot, I’m going to be late for work. Hey, Barry?” She leans out the door of Caitlin’s office and Barry walks over obediently. “Just don’t mess up my hair too b—” and suddenly they’re gone.

“Hey Barry—” Cisco looks up with a question and then realizes they’ve already disappeared. “Crap, never mind then.”

Caitlin exits her office and leans against one of the nearby partitions. “Iris was asking me all kinds of questions.”

“Like what kind of—”

Before he can finish, Barry is back, and all the loose papers on Cisco’s desk go flying up in the air.

“Really, dude?” Cisco says, exasperated. “We need to put a collar on you with one of those little bells.”

“Sorry,” Barry says, rushing around at lightning speed to retrieve all the papers to their rightful place. Once he’s finished, he grabs a nearby chair and leans against it in a very unnatural position, but in a way that appears he’s trying to look casual.

“So,” he says. “What have you two been up to?”

“Ugh, not you, too!” Caitlin throws her hands up in the air. “Did Iris put you up to this?”

“No,” Barry says, clearly lying.

“Unbelievable!” Cisco says. “Why do you two have to be so nosey?”

“I happen to be dating a very dogged reporter,” Barry says with a sheepish grin.

“Well, there’s no story here. Just two friends spending time together outside of work.” Cisco says, glancing once at Caitlin and then back down at his computer.

“Yeah, but—” Barry insists.

“Drop it, Lightning Boy,” Cisco says with a warning.

“Ouch,” Barry says, putting a hand over his heart. “That one kind of hurt.”

Later that evening, Cisco and Caitlin find themselves sitting at opposite ends of the couch. They haven’t said much to each other all night, not since _Carousel_ started playing.

“Okay, this is ridiculous,” Cisco says at last.

“Yeah,” Caitlin agrees, “This is arguably my least favorite film.”

“No, not that. I mean, I agree with you. The story is depressing, and the music definitely pales in comparison—no, you got me sidetracked. I mean all of Iris and Barry’s meddling has made this weird, hasn’t it?” He passes a hand back and forth in the space between them.

“I don’t know,” she replies, avoiding the question.

“Okay, well do you normally wear a turtleneck and winter socks pulled over your pajama bottoms? Cause that’s new and it’s weird.”

Caitlin glances down at her outfit. “I wear this all the time,” she says.

It’s less convincing when she has to wipe a bead of sweat from her temple.

Cisco just stares at her, and she squirms beneath his gaze. “I don’t know,” she finally says again. “It wasn’t weird till they pointed it out, and now I can’t stop overthinking everything.”

“But you always overthink everything.”

“Don’t make fun,” she says with a glare. “I can’t be as carefree and easygoing as you. I'm not like that.”

He sighs and leans forward. “I’m not asking you to be like me. That would be terrible,” he shudders. “Can you imagine two of me? Dating each other? I—honestly, I am just too grossed out by the thought. They’d be insufferable. Although they’d have kids with kick-ass names.” He laughs for a moment, and then his face sobers. “Right. Sidetracked again. Besides, I’m not as carefree as you think I am.”

She doesn't say anything but just studies his profile. It takes her several moments to work up the courage to ask, “What does that mean?”

He runs a hand through his hair. “It means it’s been bothering me, too. I can’t stop thinking about it.” He turns to her and attempts a smile. “I’m being ridiculous, I know.”

Caitlin stares at her friend and wishes she could voice her thoughts aloud as easily as he does. But for now, she simply stands up, goes to her room, and changes into her normal pajamas—nerdy t-shirt and all. She stands in the doorway and leans against it, watching Cisco watch the movie.

“What did I miss?” she says at last.

He glances up and dons an oddly restrained expression and just says, “Billy is being an ass, as usual.”

She joins him on the couch, and after a while, things ease back into normality. The uncomfortable moment seems to have passed. They spend the rest of the movie throwing popcorn at Billy’s face on the screen and cheering when he gets his just reward.

In the morning, it’s Caitlin’s turn to pick up Cisco. She sends him a quick message to tell him she’s arrived, and as soon as he opens the car door, she presses play on her phone.

He fixes her with the biggest, goofiest grin and says, “You did not just turn on my favorite song ever?”

The awkwardness of last night fades away as they have their own private dance party the entire drive to work.

\--

Iris and Barry come back to the table and are awarded applause from Cisco and Caitlin.

“Was that really a fair competition since Barry is practically a trained vocalist?” Cisco interjects, raising his voice above the din of the bar.

Barry rolls his eyes. “I took choir in 4th grade, and I _swear_ that’s it.”

“I know you’re trying to be humble, sweetie, but that comes across as bragging,” Iris pats his chest with her hand and stares at the rest of the group. “Who’s next?”

Cisco sets down his beer and takes Caitlin by the arm. “Come on, we’re doing this.”

She protests profusely, still clutching her glass of white wine.

“Nope, it’s already done, Snow. I’ve put in a special request.”

“But I haven’t had enough to drink—”

“You don’t need it. This is happening!” He drags her up on stage just as the song begins.

He grabs the microphone from its stand and starts to sing:

_Listen baby, ain’t no mountain high, ain’t no valley low_

_Ain’t no river wide enough baby_

He waits for her to join in, and she slowly lifts the mike to her lips when her part comes up. He gives her his silliest grin and bumps his hip against hers, and finally she’s singing along. After a while, it seems like either the alcohol finally hits her system or she loosens up for once in her life. It feels like they’re the only ones in the room, and all he can think about is how much fun he’s having.

And then the song is over, and they’re forced to leave the spotlight and return to the real world.

“That was—wow!” is all Iris can say as she hands the glass of wine back to Caitlin.

Another patron jumps up on stage and begins to sing an impossibly loud version of “Enter the Sandman,” and Barry and Iris say something unintelligible before disappearing toward the bar.

Caitlin’s trying to speak beside him, but he has to ask her to repeat it a few times, and finally she leans close to his ear and says, “I knew you were a good singer, you show-off.”

He gives her a crooked smile and says, leaning closer, “I think it’s all these musicals we’ve been watching. Oh, and the alcohol.” He lifts his beer and clicks it against her half empty glass of wine.

She rolls her eyes at him in response and bends down toward his ear again. “The mood has been so heavy lately. This is really fun. I’m having fun!”

Cisco laughs. She sounds so surprised by that, and he finds it endearing.

Barry and Iris return, and as soon as the current singer is politely ushered off the stage by the bar’s owner, he grabs Cisco and says, “Our turn!”

Cisco is more than willing to jump in. He’s ready to put his skills to the test and see if he can out-do his surprisingly talented friend.

As they begin to belt out Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend,” Cisco sees Iris approach Caitlin with a conspiratorial air.

\--

Iris sidles up to Caitlin and sets a fresh glass of wine on the table in front of her.

“Okay, so you say there’s nothing going on, and then the two of you give us arguably the cutest performance ever. What’s really happening?”

Thankfully, neither of them has to yell. Barry and Cisco are too polite to shatter anyone’s eardrums.

Caitlin rolls her eyes for the second time that evening. “I told you, we’re just having fun. That’s all.”

Iris elbows her playfully and wiggles her eyebrows at her. “What kind of fun?”

“The kind of fun that doesn’t require any labels or heartache right now.”

Her friend sobers instantly at this statement. “Caitlin, I love you, but you can’t hold onto your heartbreaks forever. Sometimes,” she pauses, gathering her words. “Well, sometimes I feel like you’re trying to be the patron saint of lost love, and you shut yourself off from real opportunities right in front of you.”

Caitlin stares at her with incomprehension. She’s equal parts angry and confused. She has no idea what to make of that statement. So, she decides to ignore it for the time being and indulge in the Snow family tradition of stuffing her feelings down deep inside.

She doesn’t need to try too hard to ignore the swirl of emotions, though—Cisco and Barry’s antics on stage are enough to provide a pleasant distraction. Iris seems to gather that Caitlin is not in the mood for talking about this, and she grows quiet. Caitlin feels a tinge of guilt.

She looks down at the glass of wine Iris had purchased for her, without Caitlin even having to ask. “Do you maybe want to have a bona-fide girls’ night sometime soon?”

Iris practically jumps up and down and gives Caitlin a brief hug. “Yes, please!”

Caitlin smiles softly and focuses on enjoying his moment—watching Barry and Cisco getting misty eyed as they croon to one another on stage. In the back of her mind, however, a nagging voice reminds her: _For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. You’ll have to deal with the consequences of stuffing these feelings down sooner or later._

She gulps down the rest of her wine. _But not tonight._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Show Tunes Night makes everything better. 
> 
> As a reminder...
> 
> I don't own "Ain't No Mountain High," "Enter the Sandman," or "You're My Best Friend." They belong to their respective and incredibly talented creators.
> 
> Leave some feedback in the comments, please!


	4. Out of My Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still trying to play it cool, he sends back a thumbs up—feels it’s too vague of a response, and follows with, "I’d love that!"

Cisco walks up to the front stoop and gingerly places the package on the welcome mat. He quickly bolts off of the porch and back to the sidewalk, where he slows to a more natural pace so as not to garner suspicion. He smiles to himself as he makes the six-block trek home and feels himself itching to message her already. But he must wait till he actually gets inside his house.

_Hey, just went by your place and it looks like you have something on your front porch._

Smooth, he thinks to himself, and hits Send.

He tries to distract himself with fixing a simple dinner. But he keeps pulling out his phone to see if she’s read his message. After about 10 minutes of this (during which time he almost burns his homemade garlic bread and pasta sauce), he finally sets his phone aside and focuses on the task at hand.

When his phone buzzes in his pocket, he practically drops the tray of garlic bread and only stops it by catching it with his bare hand. Cursing his stupidity, he runs to place his scalded hand under cold water while he pulls out his phone.

_Is this a care package? For me?_

He can sense her disbelief, even over text message. _What else would it be?_ he sends back, and quickly follows it with, _Did I get the right tea?_

_I love ginger tea in any size, shape, or form. I haven’t tried these cough drops before, and I was desperately in need of some soft, non-abrasive tissues. I’m starting to look more and more like Rudolph after each time I blow my nose._

He tries to picture her with a chafed nose and puffy eyes. He isn’t sure he can entirely imagine her with anything less than her usual put-together-ness.

_And now I’ve brought up the subject of mucus,_ she sends. _A good sign that I’m too sick to care at this point._ There’s a pause, and then: _This means a lot to me, Cisco._

_Anytime,_ he responds, trying to play it cool while doing a few fist-pumps in the air.

_Wait, did you walk here? I haven’t heard any cars come by in a while_.

_Guilty_ , he says. _I don't know why we haven’t done it before. We would save so much on fuel,_ and _cut down on greenhouse gases. We’re scientists. We should know better._

Caitlin sends back a laughing emoji. _When I can breathe and talk normally, we should take a walk sometime_.

Still trying to play it cool, he sends back a thumbs up—feels it’s too vague of a response, and follows with, _I’d love that!_

Oops, too eager.

There’s a lull in the conversation, and he decides he better snatch the opportunity before she falls into a cough syrup induced slumber.

_Singing in the Rain is on Netflix right now. Want to watch it together?_

_I don’t want to get you sick_ , she responds.

_No, silly,_ he says, _we’d watch it separately. In our own homes. At the same time!_

She sends back a gif of Stephen Colbert with an exaggeratedly shocked face. _Brilliant! I’m ready when you are. Can’t promise I won’t fall asleep, but let’s give this a try_.

They coordinate over messages to start as soon as their phone clocks hit 6:30pm. They check in with each other, and it seems like they may just have pulled this off. Throughout the film, they continue to message one another their reactions.

_Just pretend I’m sitting on the other end of your couch singing along to every single tune,_ he sends to her, with music note emojis for added effect.

_And pretend I’m sprawled across your couch, coughing and sneezing, and creating a mountain of tissues on the coffee table._

He sends a sticker of a laughing dog and wonders why this thought makes him suddenly wistful. As he sits there tapping his toes along to “Moses Supposes,” he realizes that he misses her. He wouldn’t mind having her here, illness and all.

\--

Caitlin pulls the small gift bag close to her and peeks inside again. Five packs of travel-sized tissues, all in bright and cheerful wrappers, and a bag of Halls cough drops sit at the bottom, surrounded by little bits of paper confetti. As she pulls out the bag of cough drops, a piece of paper flutters to the floor. She picks it up and reads “Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.”

With a hoarse laugh, she grabs her phone and types out, _Did you seriously put a Henry David Thoreau quote in my care package?_

The typing icon appears and disappears several times before he finally sends back, _I saw a copy of Walden on your shelf and sort of just ran with it_.

She bites her lip, wondering how effusive her thanks should be. She wants him to know she appreciates it, but she doesn’t want to—well, give any sort of impression that—well, that—“Oh, to _hell_ with it,” she says aloud.

Maybe it’s the Nyquil beginning to take effect, but she’s feeling as though the tightly clamped lid on her emotions is starting to come open.

_Cisco, this was so incredibly thoughtful of you. No one has done that for me in a long time. Actually, no one has done that for me—ever. This is the first and best care package I’ve ever received. I’m not sure you realize how much it means to me, including all this time we’ve spent together. Thank you._

She stares at her phone, vaguely wondering if she said too much. No doubt he’ll say something sassy in response, like, “You getting sappy on me, Snow?”

Instead, she stares at her phone and watches the typing icon appear and disappear repeatedly. She kicks herself, realizing she probably made things weird between them again. She sighs heavily (and with effort since her nose is practically stopped up) and lets her head fall back against her throw pillow, vaguely aware of “Would You” playing on her television.

Suddenly, there’s a knock at her door. Before she can even ask the question, she already suspects who it might be. And no car again, so he must have walked.

Caitlin stands to her feet as if in a trance and peers through the peep-hole in her door. She was right. He’s standing there on her front porch looking a little nervous—she’s not seen him nervous before, and she’s instantly curious.

She opens the door and takes a breath to speak, but this turns into a gasp when he launches himself forward and embraces her. She falls back a bit with the force of this gesture, and her arms gently wrap themselves around him in return. Even through her cough syrup haze, she can feel his heart pounding in his chest.

“Hi,” she says with a small laugh.

“Hi,” he says, his voice humming against her ear.

While she’s thoroughly enjoying this moment, her logical brain takes over, and she asks, “Are you gonna…come in?”

He hums and says, “Hugs are therapeutic if they’re more than 20 seconds long.” Then he takes a few steps and moves the pair of them across the threshold, deftly kicking the front door closed behind him with his foot.

Caitlin just stands there, doing her best to relax into this sensation. Her eyes close, and she feels her arms pulling him closer to her, if possible.

“This is a really nice hug,” she says, and she’s not just being nice. She really and truly means it.

“Okay,” he pulls back and stands in front of her. “I may have lost count, but that was roughly 20 seconds.”

“I feel better already,” she laughs, which turns into a coughing fit.

Cisco gently guides her to her couch. “I shouldn’t stay. Wouldn’t want to catch the plague.”

Once she regains her breath, she grabs his wrist on impulse. “One more song?”

“Well, if you twist my arm…” he sighs dramatically and plops down beside her.

She gathers up the pile of tissues on the couch and takes them to the kitchen trash. She must look dreadful with messy hair, chafed nose, and frumpy clothes—and with a shock, she realizes she’s not wearing a bra. Caitlin pulls her sweater tightly across her chest and returns to the couch with crossed arms.

She remembers that with Ronnie, she didn’t do that till they had been dating for three months. She’s known Cisco for years, but this _thing_ , or whatever it is, has only been going on a few weeks.

Caitlin quickly shakes her head. _Stop comparing Cisco to old beaus. He’s just Cisco._

One more song turns into three, and finally the movie has ended. She glances over and finds Cisco staring at her.

“Sometimes I feel like you’re trying to be the patron saint of lost love, and you shut yourself off from real opportunities right in front of you.” Iris’s words suddenly play back in her mind, and she is curious at the blatant suggestion from her subconscious.

Cisco is right in front of her.

\--

_So, the deathly ill look is actually quite cute_ , he thinks to himself, unaware of the length of time they have now been staring at each other.

He honestly wonders what would happen if he kissed her—and then he physically shakes his head. She’s sick. And besides, she’d probably slap him in the face and kick him out on his ass.

He stands up and hastily excuses himself on the auspice that she needs her rest (it’s only 8:30) and that she seems tired (even though she’s clearly alert, and there’s an odd sparkle in her eye that might not be from the fever).

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some good rest, and don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids, and take your medicine—”

“Cisco,” she interrupts with a half-smile. “I know how to take care of myself.”

He over-corrects his statement by saying that _of course_ she can take care of herself, and that she “don’t need no man.” He even adds a z-snap for added effect and wonders if he’s being too over the top.

This garners a laugh from her, at least. “I really should go,” he continues, turning towards the door.

“Yeah, okay.” Her response is tinged with such disappointment that he almost turns back.

He knows if he does, he will never want to leave.

He catches one last glimpse of her over his shoulder. She’s ensconced beneath a heavy quilt and with her hair lying limp against the sides of her face. But her large, brown eyes are fixed on him. It’s possibly the first time in his life he’s been lost for words. To make up for this, he gives her an exaggerated wave and then a salute. He hopes his usual over-the-top-ness will cover the fact that he’s suddenly feeling quite self-conscious and nervous.

Once home, he settles onto his couch and pulls out his phone to message Caitlin one last time, only to find she’s already sent a gif of a cat hugging a stuffed teddy bear and a note that says, _Thanks for everything, Cisco._ And then a sticker of a smiling fox with little animated hearts over its head.

And for the rest of the night, Cisco can’t help but stare at that damn cartoon cat wondering what on earth she’s doing sending him hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the "taking care of your sick significant other" thing is cliche, but it works...right? *sweating profusely*  
> Not sure how many more chapters I'll get out of this, so stay tuned!


	5. People Will Say We're In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His hand reaches up and tangles itself in her hair. At first, he thinks he’s being just a little bit sexy—but then his hand is really stuck.

A few days turns into a week, and finally Caitlin starts to feel like herself again. She takes all the supplements she can find and goes through three boxes of ginger tea and honey till her cough has subsided. She briefly loses her voice for a day and a half, during which time Cisco (supported by Barry and Iris) insist she stays home. She sends texts to retrieve constant updates, which they patently ignore (all except Cisco, of course).

It’s on her fifth day of solitary confinement that she sends a text to Barry saying, _Can I PLEASE come back to work??_

To which she receives no response.

_Tell your boyfriend to look at his texts,_ she sends to Iris.

Again, silence.

Finally, she resorts to her least favorite form of communication—group messaging.

Caitlin: _LET ME COME BACK TO WORK_

Iris: _Can you speak yet?_

Caitlin: … _sort of. Does rasping count?_

Barry: _Absolutely not._

Iris: _Cisco, you wanna weigh in on this?_

Cisco: _I plead the fifth. But also, she still can’t speak. She tried to call me yesterday and I thought it was a squirrel on the other end of the line. Like, would that be awesome? Yes. But do I know any squirrels? Yes. Squirrels with phones? Negatory._

Iris: _CISCO. Not helping._

Barry: _How many squirrels do you know?_

Cisco: _A scientist never tells._

Caitlin: _Guys. I’m going stir crazy._

Iris: _One more day. That's all we ask._

Caitlin lets out a hoarse groan and absently punches the throw pillow beside her. She’s gone through her entire collection of musicals and has even resorted to watching any and everything in the “bingeable” section of her Netflix.

Her phone buzzes, and she glances down to see a private message from Cisco.

_You going to make it, or should I drop off more supplies?_

She considers this. Her nose is no longer running, she has only a very slight cough, and she hasn’t been running a fever for a few days. In her opinion, she’s no longer contagious—but definitely still not 100%.

_I’m dying for some Chinese food and a walk outside in the fresh air,_ she responds.

_Done and done,_ he sends back. _You send me what you want, and I’ll have it to you by dinner tonight._

She distracts herself by doing some cleaning and soaking in the tub with her favorite book (she’s lately been re-reading _Walden_ ) and puts particular care and attention into appearing fresh and renewed. Cisco is her inside man and might be able to convince Iris to remove the “one more day” restriction. She really will lose her mind if she doesn't get back to her normal routine.

Caitlin then counts down the hours till 6, and when Cisco knocks on the door, she’s already standing there, waiting to receive him.

“Happy to see me?” He jokes with his silliest grin.

“Just my egg drop soup and crab rangoons,” she says with a playful smile, and takes the delicious-smelling bag of food from his outstretched hands.

“You’re just using me for my food-delivery skills.”

She nods her head, too busy stuffing her face with a vegetable egg roll to verbalize a response.

He sighs dramatically and joins her in the kitchen. Before he has a chance to pull down plates for them, she has already devoured her egg roll in three bites.

“You’re looking well,” he says, with a pleased expression.

Caitlin spends several moments chewing and swallowing her massive bite of food and thanks him. She realizes she must look frightfully piggish chowing down so quickly.

“Sorry,” she says, “I’ve been surviving off of tea and soup the past week.”

“Don’t apologize,” he seats himself across from her at the table. “I like a girl with a hearty appetite.” He winks at her, and she can tell he’s only half-joking.

After they finish eating—which is a silent affair as Caitlin devours her meal in less than five minutes—Cisco suggests a walk before the sun disappears completely.

She gladly agrees, but soon realizes she isn’t as far along on the road to recovery as she had hoped. She is winded pretty quickly, and Cisco suggests they make a small stop at a nearby park. It’s practically empty this time of day, as most families have returned indoors for dinner. Without a word, he leads them over to the swing set.

“I haven’t used one of these in years,” she says, grateful for the opportunity to sit down but also filled with nostalgia of school days gone by.

“I was the king of swing jumps.”

She stares at him, confused.

“You’re kidding me." He says. "You’ve never jumped off of a swing before?”

Caitlin laughs. “I was perhaps _more_ cautious and gun-shy as a kid than I am now. If my 12-year-old self could see me now, she’d think I had lost my senses completely.”

Cisco hums in response and starts swinging beside her. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

He deftly soars to a surprising height and speed and then just at the peak of the next arc, he jumps out of the seat and lands on both feet on the gravel.

“Ta-da!” He turns, and his boyish grin sends a funny flip-flop motion through her stomach. “Now you try,” he says, returning to his seat beside her.

“I’ll leave it to experts like you.”

He doesn’t push the issue and swings at a more sedate pace beside her. They’ve lapsed into comfortable silence, and non-risk-taking Caitlin decides to step into new territory.

“I'm very comfortable around you, Cisco.”

He slows his pace until he’s stopped completely, fixing her with an uncharacteristically serious expression. “I feel the same way.” He pauses and then says, “So, what does that mean?”

She really can’t tell what he’s thinking behind his soft, dark brown eyes. She shrugs one shoulder, having reached the end of her tether for risks.

Cisco gives her a crooked smile and then leans forward to plant a kiss on her unsuspecting lips. He leans back suddenly with a wide-eyed expression.

“I’m—sorry, was that weird for you? I thought it was kind of a moment, but I guess I should have asked first. I am _so_ sorry.”

Caitlin gazes at him, wondering if she can reconcile this new picture of Cisco in her mind. Meanwhile, her heart is racing and her palms feel a bit clammy against the metal chain. She hasn’t felt this in a long time. She didn’t expect it to be directed toward Cisco, but—then…he’s been surprising her a lot lately.

“It’s not weird unless you’re worried about getting sick,” she finds herself saying in response.

Cisco seems to take this as a sign of encouragement, and he spends several moments play-acting a role as her doctor. He puts the back of his hand against her forehead, takes her pulse, and finally asks her to open her mouth and say ‘aah.’

“What’s the prognosis, Doc?”

“Well, you’re the one with the medical expertise. So as the mechanically minded individual I am, I’ll just have to take the risk.” He lets his hand rest against her cheek.

“That was very smooth!” She laughs, trying to dispel some of the anxious energy boiling in her stomach.

“I thought so, too!” He says, leaning forward to kiss her again.

She relaxes into this experiment, wondering why she never noticed how soft and full his lips are. In the back of her mind, she wonders what in the world will happen with this endeavor—but for the moment, she does her best to relish in the simple act of kissing someone who means the world to her.

\--

_Oh, shit, oh shit_. His mind is screaming at him. But he can’t seem to stop exploring the taste of her lips, and she’s responding to him with unexpected fervor. His hand reaches up and tangles itself in her hair. At first, he thinks he’s being just a little bit sexy—but then his hand is really stuck.

“Um, Caitlin?” he says between kisses.

She only hums in response, her eyes half-closed in a sort of dreamy trance.

“My hand is kind of caught, here,” and he tugs slightly, eliciting a soft yelp of pain from her.

She’s laughing as she untangles his fingers, so he hasn’t ruined the moment _entirely_. There’s a soft smile on her face he’s never seen before, and he’s so tempted to take her in his arms and kiss her again. But his practical side kicks in, and he offers to walk her home. It’s a little quieter than usual between them. He’s trying not to show how much he’s actually freaking out. That was most definitely not just a one-sided kiss. He wonders if he can just start prattling off aimlessly to relieve the tension, and maybe she’s regretting what just happened—and then she reaches over and grabs his hand.

It’s such a small, intimate gesture, and he can’t hide the smile that fills his face. Even if she decides they shouldn’t move forward with this, or feels like she’s not ready for anything serious—he’ll always be grateful for this quiet moment with her.

That is, of course, until his brain can’t stand the silence any longer and he starts filling it with his usual aimless chatter. She’s kind enough to laugh in the right places and respond appropriately, but he can tell she’s withdrawing slightly. He leaves her at her house with a chaste peck on the cheek and then embarks on his own side mission.

He picks up his phone as he climbs into his car and quickly dials a number.

“Iris,” he says, “I need some advice…”

\--

Caitlin walks into her house and promptly collapses onto the couch. Her hand lifts and rests gently against her lips. _That was…unexpected_ , she ponders. Her stomach does a somersault when she recalls the sensation of his hand against her cheek and in her hair. _Unexpected, but not unwanted,_ she admits to herself.

It’s time Caitlin Snow faced some cold, hard truths about this relationship with Cisco. And, perhaps, it’s time she asked for some help on the matter, and when it comes to matters of the heart, she knows she can turn to one person in particular. She picks up her phone and selects a number from her speed-dials.

“Barry,” she says, “I need a favor…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter than most, but hopefully that keeps you on the edge of your seats! *continues to sweat profusely*


	6. Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My God, she’s being coy. And he loves it.

Caitlin sips on her second cup of coffee and stares at Barry over the rim of her mug.

“So,” she says, “What are you thinking?”

Barry breathes a deep sigh, and then a bright smile fills his entire face. “Iris was right.”

Caitlin rolls her eyes. “How long has she known?”

“Six months, I think.”

She can only stare blankly at her friend, her mug frozen mid-journey to her mouth. “ _Months?_ ”

“Yeah,” he says with a half smile. “When it comes to other peoples’ romance, she’s a brilliant investigator.”

“She must have had a pretty big blind spot when it came to yours,” she shoots back.

He has the good nature to laugh and shake his head.

Caitlin doesn’t know why she’s being so snippy with him. Maybe it’s the anxiety of baring a secret to a friend, only to find out that he’s known for a long time—longer than she was even aware of her own feelings. It’s frustrating. She decides to change the subject.

“Where is Iris, by the way?”

“Oh, she’s off doing some investigative work. You know how she is.” He glances down, and there’s a fond, affectionate smile playing across his features.

She narrows her eyes at him. She has the distinct impression that he’s hiding something from her.

“Well,” she huffs, her mind returning quickly to the original subject, “What am I supposed to do about this thing with Cisco now?”

He frowns at her. “Maybe…try not to overthink it and have fun?”

She nods her head in agreement. “Yeah,” she says. “I could have a room filled with trophies for overthinking things.”

Barry gives her one of his signature winning smiles, and she returns it gratefully. Even though she’s no closer to figuring out everything, at least she knows she’s not alone. Barry has had his fair share of woes in the romance department.

Caitlin sips her coffee in silence and ponders what it would look like to “just have fun” for the first time in her life.

\--

“But, I mean, are we going to put a label on it? What would that even mean? And we haven’t even technically been on an official ‘date,’ so how does that work since we’ve already kissed?”

“Okay, hold up—” Iris puts a hand on Cisco’s shoulder. “First of all, _breathe_. You are going to give yourself a panic attack. Second of all, tell me all the details of that first kiss immediately.”

He relays the story but leaves out a few crucial details (such as getting his hand stuck in her hair). Some things even Iris doesn’t need to know.

“That is adorable!” She squeals and claps her hands. “Okay, so now onto the more pressing concerns. Have you tried—oh, I don’t know—talking to her about it?”

Cisco shakes his head, for once speechless. Sure, he’s dated before. And he’s had girlfriends…but he’s never dated anyone like Caitlin Snow.

“She’s not the most open person in the world,” he says at last, preferring to glance at the trees along the park path rather than Iris’s scrutinizing stare.

“Yeah, a couple of intense heartbreaks can tend to do that to a person.”

“And that’s another thing,” Cisco stops in his tracks, causing Iris to stumble slightly as she’s linked arms with him. “How can I possibly compete with the memories of Ronnie and Jay—I mean, pre-betrayal Jay?”

Iris pauses for a moment. “You won’t be competing with them.”

Cisco glares at her. “I’m barely 5’6’’, have never been to the gym, and I’ll be with a gorgeous, 5’8’’ woman who likes to wear heels. Jay and Ronnie were these muscular mammoths with chiseled jawlines and—”

“Okay, so as women, we do _sometimes_ compare our current boyfriends with our past, but honestly this will be so new and exciting for her that those will eventually fade into memory. I promise.” She shakes his arm for emphasis.

He sighs in response.

“But you have to _talk to her_ about it, and not just to me and Barry.”

He glances around exaggeratedly. “Yeah, where is your better half?”

Iris gives him a non-committal shrug. “Hmm. No idea.” And she quickly changes the subject.

\--

Caitlin stands by her door and finds herself biting her lip—more than once. She has to drag herself back to the couch each time and force herself to sit in front of the TV.

Cisco had already messaged her the plans for the evening:

_Here’s the deal. I’ll come pick you up at your place around 7, we’ll walk back to mine, and then we will eat dinner and watch a movie. Like a date. A real date._

Thirty seconds passed and then: _If…that’s okay._

It took her a solid five minutes to respond. All she could manage was, _Yep!_ with an enthusiastic thumbs up.

A real date with Cisco.

The doorbell rings, and Caitlin fumbles with the remote before standing to her feet, smoothing out her shirt, and walking to the door. Just before turning the knob, she reminds herself that it’s just her friend—or…boyfriend? And all of her former anxieties bubble up to the surface again. With a sigh, she opens the door and plasters a smile on her face.

Cisco is standing there looking equally as uncomfortable in a pair of skinny jeans and—

“Is that a tuxedo t-shirt?” She asks with a suppressed grin.

He scrunches up his face in a comical expression of uncertainty. “Too dressy?”

She laughs and feels some of the unease seeping out of her stiff limbs. She steps forward and locks the door behind her. Now that they’re on the doorstep, she waits for him to make the first move.

He clears his throat and holds out his arm like an _escort_. She stifles a laugh and links her arm through his. As they walk down the sidewalk, she can’t hold back the giggles any longer.

“I feel like you’re taking me to prom.”

“I _knew_ the shirt was too much!” He pulls his arm away to rake a hand through his hair.

“No, really,” she continues to tease. “If you’d come to my door with a corsage, I would not have been surprised.”

Cisco gives her a sideways look and a smirk. “Yuck it up all you want. I was just—trying to be chivalrous. I’m a little rusty when it comes to dating.”

She snorts at this. “I know exactly how you feel. I haven’t exactly excelled in that area either.”

He glances at her, and she can tell he is tempted to bring up the subject of past loves—but he wisely moves past it.

“So, you’ve got your pick of dinners tonight, because I was nervous and ruined three different recipes and am pretty much out of materials. Will it be fancy ramen or frozen pizza?”

“Well, I don’t know what fancy ramen is, but I’m intrigued.” She is emboldened to link her arm with his again, and he looks pleased.

They make good time to his apartment, and as soon as they cross the threshold, her stomach lets out a fierce growl. She freezes and stares at him. He stares back with an arrested expression before bursting into laughter.

Soon, they are doubled over and wiping tears from their eyes. She finds herself seated on the couch beside him, having kicked off her shoes. Perhaps they needed that release to relieve the pressures of tonight.

“Oh my God, Caitlin,” Cisco says, letting his head fall back against the couch cushions. “I was so nervous about tonight. Like, I wanted everything to go so _perfectly_ that I even wrote out a speech—” he sifts in his back pocket and pulls out a heavily creased piece of notebook paper.

“Let me see!” She snatches at it, but he holds his arm above his head.

Caitlin merely lifts an eyebrow and leans forward, pressing against him just slightly and letting her arm stretch upwards in a lazy arc over her head. Her face is millimeters from his, and she can feel his breath tickling the hair at the side of her face.

She is tempted to let this moment play out. Instead, she easily reaches up and swipes the paper from his hand. He’s staring at her with a mixture of bemusement and consternation.

“Long arms, remember?”

“Do _not_ read that, Snow. Don’t you dare,” he says, trying to grab it from her fingers, but she’s too quick for him.

She ducks under his reaching arms and leans just out of reach to the other side of the couch.

Her eyes dart back and forth over the scrap of paper, and then she turns to him with a blank expression. “It just says ‘Unique. Timing. Muscular mammoths.’”

He covers his face with his hands. “There was going to be a lot more involved with it, I just thought—well, Iris suggested that I try to talk to you, and then I kept getting my words so jumbled that—”

“You talked to Iris today?”

“Yeah,” he says, letting his hands fall to his side. “Why?”

Caitlin grins suddenly. “I talked to Barry. We met at Jitters around lunch.”

Cisco’s eyes widen. “I took a walk with Iris in the park at noon. She said she had no idea where he was.”

“Barry said Iris was off doing ‘investigative work’ or something.”

“Those devious bastards,” he says, raising his fist in the air in mock outrage.

She lets Cisco’s speech fall in her lap in a limp grasp. “He said Iris knew that we had feelings for each other six months ago. How is that even possible?”

He blinks at her. “Well, I mean, I’ve always admired you and thought you were beautiful. But it’s strange that I honestly didn’t really recognize any sort of attraction between us till now.”

Caitlin shifts closer to him on the couch, feeling a touch of nervousness overtake her when his arm brushes against hers. His words are still rattling around in her addled brain. Words like admired, beautiful…

She clears her throat. “So, ‘unique.’ What were you going to say about that?”

Cisco sighs, and she can see he’s considering his words carefully. “I think I was going to talk about how it’s kind of a unique situation we’ve found ourselves in. Maybe the fact that Harrison and Jesse left, and that Joe, Wally, Iris, and Barry seem to have their own nuclear family issues that don’t always include us. You and I were kind of forced together, so to speak.”

She nods her head, thinking back over the last month with an intense mixture of sadness at the loss of her friends and contentment at this newfound—whatever it is with Cisco.

Her eyes drift back to the paper in her hand. “And ‘timing?’”

He shifts closer to her, and she can feel the heat radiating off of his skin in the space between them. This…whatever it is between them is magnetic.

“It’s been a pretty wild year,” he says, tucking some of his shoulder length hair behind his ear. “I kind of figured you’d still be reeling from—recent events. So to speak.” He clears his throat. “Which brings me to my final point—the mammoths.”

When he pauses, she fills in the gap, suddenly taking his meaning. “Ronnie and—Jay.”

“Yeah.” He lets the word hang there, and she can feel something pushing its way to the front of her mind—a realization that she had not yet allowed herself to voice aloud.

“They’re gone, Cisco.” She swallows hard around a lump in her throat, unable to look at him as her cheeks flush. “And, besides, I’ve always preferred shorter guys.”

From the corner of her eye, she can see Cisco staring at her.

“Really?” He says, the disbelief in his voice so endearing that she can’t resist meeting his gaze.

She nods her head in response, and suddenly, he throws his arms around her and pulls her in close.

Caitlin has never been one for flowery, romantic nonsense, but at the moment, she’s trembling with excitement and anticipation. Dare she say it—her heart is even fluttering a little. It’s clear he feels the same, and yet there’s still an expression of uncertainty and possibly fear in his eyes. Even now, he’s still unsure of himself. Or maybe he’s unsure of her feelings towards him.

Well, she’ll show him.

But before she can do that, her stomach lets out another loud complaint.

“That’s it,” Cisco throws his hands up in the air. “I’m feeding you this instant.”

\--

Cisco hazards a glance at Caitlin. She’s standing beside him—rather closer than is absolutely necessary—wearing one of his aprons while she chops green onions. It has a symbol of the atom on it (a gift from his mom? He can’t remember) and it has never looked better on a human body than it does on her.

She reaches up and quickly twists her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck before asking, “What’s next?”

Good God, he wants to kiss her again. But there is a more pressing matter at hand. His own stomach growls when the aromas of the stir-fry beef emanate from the nearby pan. Once he finally tears his eyes away from Caitlin’s delicious profile, he turns his attention to the equally tasty meal awaiting their consumption.

They plop down on the floor and slurp soup at the coffee table while the opening credits to _The Music Man_ play on the television screen.

He swallows a mouth-watering bite of beef and points his spoon at the screen. “This is my favorite. Hope you don’t mind.”

She says something incomprehensible in reply, and he turns to find her struggling around a huge mouthful of food. He has to admit something to himself as he watches her visibly fighting to chew and swallow—he always thought she was perfect. Not that he couldn’t see any of her flaws (he’s certainly seen her at her lowest points), it’s just that he thought she was _too_ perfect.

As in, too amazingly perfect for someone like himself.

But she’s not. Caitlin Snow is exactly right.

“You’re amazing,” he says. The words just slip out of his mouth without any preamble, and now she’s staring at him.

“Even with my cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk’s?” She says, looking a little sheepish.

“Yeah,” he says, feeling brave enough to lean closer and put a hand against the small of her back. “Especially then.”

He presses his lips to hers, and she tastes of salty ramen, beef, and green onion. But as he explores the contours of her mouth further, she has a flavor that is uniquely her own, and one that makes him hungry for more. He gently presses his other hand against her cheek, letting it slide down the side of her neck to rest on the curves of her collarbone.

Caitlin shifts her legs to turn and face him, but she knocks her knee against the edge of the table.

Her face reddens as she rubs the area that will likely bruise. “I’m so sorry, I’m really bad at this.”

“Are you kidding?” Cisco is flooded with relief. “I thought I was the only one freaking out.”

“You seem to know what you’re doing, and it’s a little—intimidating.” She huffs a sigh and moves to sit on the couch, still nursing her knee. “I have not dated in a long time. And any dating I _did_ do, I’ve done my best to block from my memory.”

He stands and sits beside her, unapologetic in his close proximity. “Well, let’s just take it slow.” Meanwhile, his heart is hammering in his chest and all he wants to do is play out the fantasies in his head at breakneck speed.

She nods her head and relaxes into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder.

They watch a few more minutes of the movie, laughing at the appropriate moments in the musical number “Ya Got Trouble.”

But as soon as she glances up at him, sharing in another humorous moment, he’s kissing her again. And by the ardent response, it’s clear she’s not entirely willing to take things slow either.

They get lost in this endeavor for quite some time—and it’s not till “Goodnight Ladies” that they finally part and catch their breath.

“Well,” she clears her throat and tries to fix her tousled hair. “So much for that.”

He laughs, a little shakily, and can’t think of anything clever in response. What is this woman doing to him? She’s robbed him of his witty repartee, and it’s freaking him out.

Caitlin stares at the television, a new glint in her eyes. “At this rate, we won’t make it to the second act.”

“Is that a challenge?” He fires back, sitting up and staring into her face.

She shrugs one shoulder and gives him a sidelong glance.

My God, she’s being coy. And he loves it.

Cisco practically pounces on her, and she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s actually laughing so hard that tears are streaming down her face. He plants a trail of kisses across her cheeks, her forehead, her neck, and stops just below her tantalizing earlobes.

In between breaths, he says, “Will you be my girlfriend already?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” She has a sly expression on her face. “Barry and Iris will be ashamed at how long it’s taken you to—”

“Oh, we are _not_ bringing them into this moment right now.” He silences her with a kiss and then draws back. “Wait, you didn't actually say—”

“Yes, Cisco!” Caitlin takes his face in her hands and kisses him so soundly, he feels like his legs turn to Jell-o.

Needless to say, neither of them pays much attention to the musical numbers providing a unique soundtrack to other more important activities. They resurface in time to watch the finale together and realize they were crazy not to try this dating thing much earlier.

Cisco stares at Caitlin, and she stares back at him. They’ll just have to make up for lost time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually really sad that it's over. They are delightfully awkward and fun and clueless about each other. Thank you for taking this journey with me! Leave some love in the comments!
> 
> <3


End file.
